Game Pro Expo to be E3 Successor

Gamespot broke the news yesterday from a leaked document sent to a short list of LA Convention and Visitors Bureau members that International Data Group (IDG) will put together a Los Angeles show with the backing of the ESA on the size and scope of E3.

The report which was confirmed on a number of sites from different sources indicates that a 2007 show hosted by IDG, publisher of dozens of tech magazines and producer of hundreds of trade shows around the world (including Macworld), is being planned for the Los Angeles Convention Center, former site of E3, with gaming competitions potentially included at the neighboring Staples Center. IDG and the LACC estimate that the first year's attendance could top 30,000, about half of last year's E3 attendance, with expected growth in the following years to quickly rival and surpass E3.

This may actually be disappointing news to a number industry insiders who have come out in the past few months, clearly relieved that the scheduling and costs associated with producing content for E3 had apparently been put aside. It also explains why CES, which had been planning its own show designed to fill E3's shoes, suddenly scrapped its plans.